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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. swing — to play on
  3. spring — of water
  4. swing — music
  5. spring — the season
  6. pass — a permit
  7. net — in sport
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. tube — a container
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. spring — a coil
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. swing — in golf
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. net — after costs
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. net — for catching
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. tube — the underground

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com